As reported by ABC News 24 (here), a new report has found that two-thirds of tertiary education students suffer high levels of stress.
Is this a surprise? No!
We have seen students in our Schools with increased stress, anxiety and depression. The responsible body - the NSW Board of Studies, then BOSTES, now NESA - has put into place a system where students who suffer from mental illnesses are not disadvantaged. We give students extra time for examinations, rest breaks, readers and writers if required. Are we setting up students for failure - if not at university, then maybe for life?
Let me be clear, I am not advocating for discrimination against those with disabilities (particularly mental health) but I don't think we've got it quite right that everyone is on a level playing field. Is it fair for an employer to look at a student's Year 12 transcript and ATAR and expect that they are perfectly capable of fulfilling a job position only to find that they need extra time to complete the task? Or finding out that they can only write up a report, if they have a writer for them?
Whilst it is still unknown why anxiety and depression has increased in our youth (yes it is diagnosed more, but it is also more prevalent), the root cause of this remains a mystery. Until we find the underlying cause and problem with our society, we will not fix this problem and we are doing a disservice to the young people in our care and the employers looking for new employees based upon an HSC that doesn't disclose extra provisions.
In response to the video on twitter, @soggyduck has noted that they were stressed in the past. @gibbonwalk expresses concern over the future employment of the stressed uni students.
This is one of the most important issues of our time.
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